FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Food

Tourists Walk Out on Restaurant Bill Because They Think ‘All-Inclusive’ Holiday Covers Entire Greek Island

When the Rhodes restaurant owner caught up with the dine-and-dashers, they showed him their hotel resort wristbands.
Photo via Flickr user Larry

When you're on holiday, it's all too easy to rack up a costly restaurant bill. Lunch is kicked off with a couple of cocktails, you order that pricey lobster (well, if you can't treat yourself on holiday, when can you?), and say yes to the saffron-infused dessert. A few bottles of steep-end-of-the-wine-list Pinot Noir later, and you've blown your entire day's budget.

But even when a hefty bill arrives, most of us resist the temptation to slip out of the restaurant "to answer a call" and make a run for it. Not everyone is quite so honest, though. The dine-and-dash hall of fame is bursting with tales of those who went to extreme lengths to avoid coughing up, including the 120-strong group that conga-lined their way out of a restaurant and the guy who skipped out on his cheque by running into the sea (it went as well as you'd expect).

Advertisement

A British couple holidaying on the Greek island of Rhodes have become the latest bill-dodging offenders after they brazenly strolled out of a restaurant there without leaving a single Euro.

The excuse the pair gave after a bewildered restaurant owner caught up with them? They thought their all-inclusive holiday package covered the whole island of Rhodes.

According to local news site Dimokratiki, when the owner reminded the couple that they had to pay, they merely flashed their hotel resort wristbands at him. The pair truly believed that they were entitled to eat anywhere on the island for free, but once the concept of an all-inclusive holiday was explained, they agreed to cough up for their meal.

It's not the first time tourists from the Rhodes resort have confused the meaning of "all-inclusive." Apparently, the same restaurant owner claims a similar incident happened last year.

It's probably worth reading the small print if you're going on holiday, eh?